A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash

When Egypt’s onetime Foreign Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali was running for the post of U.N. Secretary-General in late 1991, he had to contend with the rival candidacy of Bernard Chidzero, then foreign minister of Zimbabwe.

Hong Kong: No Safety in Exile

When performance artist Sammu Chen tried to tie a red thread to a streetpost, plainclothes police stopped him before he could finish. Chen has twice been detained for his symbolic acts of commemoration of the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, when Chinese authorities killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, to crush democracy protests.

‘We Came for Action, Not Promises’: Developing Nations Voice Frustration as Bonn Talks Conclude

The United Nations June Climate Meetings (SB64) ended in Bonn with sharp disagreements between developed and developing countries over climate finance, adaptation support and emissions reductions, leaving negotiators with significant unresolved issues ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye.

How AgricTech Cuts Labour for Zimbabwe’s Female Farmers

Long burdened by the labour-intensive nature of agriculture, Zimbabwe's female farmers are finding relief in new agritechnologies that significantly reduce the time they spend in the field.

RightsCon’s Cancellation Signals a Growing Threat to Human Rights and Digital Freedoms

RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, has served for over a decade as a vital global gathering, bringing together civil society, academics, technologists, policymakers, and the private sector in cross-border collaboration. The abrupt cancellation of RightsCon 2026, following intervention by Zambia’s government just days before the convening was due to commence in Lusaka, should concern us all.

Will US Opposition to UN’s Socio-Economic Goals Play a Decisive Role in the Vote for Next Secretary-General?

As the campaign for a new UN secretary-general gathers momentum, will the US exercise the decisive vote -- or the veto-- in the final selection?

In Sikkim, Snow Leopards and Communities Share the High Mountains

The tea arrives before the conversation starts. Jayanta Mukhia sets two cups on the wooden table and pulls up a chair across from the couple who arrived that afternoon with trekking poles and rucksacks. They have come to walk the Goechala trail into the heart of Khangchendzonga National Park in India. They will leave in two days. Before they go, she has something to tell them.

Global Economy Endures War Shock—So Far

More than three months into the war in the Middle East, the global economy appears to be holding up. Commodity prices, inflation and expectations for it, and financial conditions have all been impacted—but not yet in ways that signal a global slowdown. And we have seen strong economic momentum in the world’s biggest economies, the United States and China.

GLOBAL TAX TREATY: ‘Without Sustained Pressure from Organised Movements, the Political Space to Win Simply Doesn’t Open’

 
CIVICUS discusses a proposed United Nations (UN) tax treaty with Jenny Ricks, General Secretary of Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that organises to counter the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite.

New Caledonia’s Election to Set the Stage for New Talks With France on Its Political Future

The French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific will hold elections on 28 June in the wake of the latest agreement on its political status with France being rejected. The representatives elected in the three provincial assemblies and territorial congress will then determine a new round of negotiations as the mission of achieving consensus on New Caledonia’s future continues.

Fiscal Reform Needs More Than Strong Finance Ministries

In the human body, connective tissue rarely gets the attention given to the heart, lungs or brain. But without it, even the strongest organs cannot function as a system. It binds, supports and connects a healthy body. Fiscal systems work in a similar way.

Systematic Vilification of Russian LGBTQ+ Community Pushes Them Underground

LGBTQ+ people in Russia are being forced to increasingly use self-censoring strategies in their daily lives as they struggle with systemic vulnerability, one of the largest surveys of the LGBTQ+ community in the country has shown.

The Last Bottle of Halothane: Why Africa Cannot Wait

Global health has a habit of mobilizing around the visible and the dramatic. Ebola, malaria, and Mpox have all dominated headlines related to Africa in recent years, and understandably so. But nobody is talking about one of the most consequential regional health crises waiting to happen.

Erdoğan’s Race to Avoid Orbán’s Fate

When Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lost by a landslide to a unified opposition in April, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was watching. The lesson he drew was not that he should be more moderate; it was that he needed to crack down harder. He had already arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)’s leading presidential contender, in March 2025. After Orbán’s defeat, he has accelerated his campaign to fracture the opposition and rewrite the rules before the next election in 2028.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Outcomes Stall in Backdrop of Geopolitical Strife

On principle, the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons is an issue that unites the international community. But for a select few states, these principles came with conditions and a refusal to compromise on their security strategy.

The End of the Gulf Model?

The German government, along with a number of other countries, are currently organising flights to evacuate travellers and influencers stranded in the Gulf states. For many citizens of other nationalities, however, there is no such assistance. They remain stuck in precarious situations, marked by exploitation and insecurity.

Health Emerges as a Strategic Frontline for Africa Ahead of Bonn Climate Conference

Africa contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it faces some of the world's most severe climate-related health impacts. Several realities define the continent's climate and health landscape – increased infectious diseases, air pollution, death, disruption and pressure on health systems through heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms.

Africa Needs a Radical Plan to Tackle 15M Youth Job Crisis

Africa has no problem with ideas, but the struggle is in how to  implement them, leaders said at an inaugural forum convened to promote action on development.

BOTSWANA: ‘Court Rulings Matter, but It’s Sustained Civic Action That Turns Them into Real Protection’

 
CIVICUS discusses Botswana’s decriminalisation of same-sex relations with Faith Gunda, a Botswana-based law student and human rights defender, a member of the CIVICUS Protest Lab and co-founder of Sisterhood Chain International, a solidarity initiative that supports grassroots groups and amplifies young women’s voices.

Africa Pushes for Data Sovereignty and Digital Independence

African leaders are sharpening their focus on digital sovereignty, warning that the continent’s economic future will depend not just on connectivity, but on who controls its data—and where it is stored.

Papua New Guinea Bets on Indigenous Communities to Protect 700,000 Hectares of Highlands

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved USD 6.4 million for a new conservation initiative in Papua New Guinea that seeks to protect 700,000 hectares of critical highland ecosystems by placing Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the centre of conserving and managing their ancestral lands.